Sales & Marketing Relationship Therapy: Decoding the 5 Love Languages

Thanks for joining me again for our Sales & Marketing Relationship Therapy session. Last session, we dug deep into the meaning of lead quality as it pertains to sales and marketing alignment.

Today, we explore how Sales and Marketing can decode the 5 love languages to better relate to one another. Let’s take some time and dive into the love languages to get on the same B2B page and forge our most solid alignment.

Love language #1: Motivate and encourage using words of affirmation

Words of affirmation lift up another person/team. The opposite being negative words that might discourage someone from doing something. So what does this look like in the context of B2B sales and marketing?

How Marketers can use words of affirmation

When you notice something great, use positive affirmation to encourage Sales to “keep up the hard work”. This could look like public acknowledgment at a company meeting or via email. Or it could be as simple as walking by their desk and making a point of complimenting someone on a job well done.

Last December, the PathFactory marketing team wanted to recognize the BDRs for their hard work. The whole marketing team came by the Sales area to give a big kudos for a year of hard work. It helped that these words of affirmation were accompanied by several boxes of donuts…

How Sales can use words of affirmation

Remember to compliment marketing on their efforts! It can be hard to notice all they are doing to enable you. So take stock of the marketing materials they provide and be sure to speak up when you love something they’ve done.

Love language #2: Gifts are a symbol of your appreciation

A gift tells someone that you are thinking about them. Those who speak the ‘gift’ love language appreciate when someone takes time to think about and get something nice for them. Gifts can take a physical form but are always thoughtful and personalized. For example, you wouldn’t gift an Oh-Henry bar to someone with a nut allergy!

Gifts Marketers can give to Sales

Give the gift of sales enablement! Keep all tools available in an easy-to-find spot. This way, Sales can find and reference them whenever needed. This can look like a simple spreadsheet and/or regular communications alerting Sales when something new is available to use.

Here at PathFactory, we recently rebranded from LookBookHQ. As a result, there are still lots of old assets floating around. The marketing team asked the Sales team what LookBookHQ branded assets are most valuable to them. This way, we can rebrand those assets first. This gives Sales a seat at the content table to ensure they get the Sales enablement gifts they truly want.

Gifts Sales can give to Marketing

There’s no better gift than valuable information. Have a process in place that gives Marketing feedback you receive from prospects. Which content and campaigns are resonating most (and which aren’t). They’ll appreciate any insight into their target prospects!

Love language #3: Acts of service show you care about your mutual success

Acts of service involve doing something you know someone will appreciate and enjoy. They are actions that ease the burden of responsibility for someone. This builds a positive environment and lets everyone know you have each other’s back.

Acts of service Marketers can do

You have lots of wisdom to impart. Offer to help your Sales counterparts boost their social media game or assist them in writing a killer blog post to help build their thought leadership and writing skills (like this one!). Or, listen in on sales calls. This could help inspire future follow-up and content creation. Plus, help inform Sales on what content exists to take their conversations to the next level.

Acts of service Sales can do

Assist in content creation whenever possible. This not only gets your byline on a website and builds thought leadership but also helps Marketing ideate with your unique point of view. Don’t be afraid of sharing ideas you think would resonate with your customers. Since you interact with prospects all day e’eryday, you have insight that other departments lack.

Quality time is self-explanatory and essential to get on the same page and bond with each other! Spending time together can mean a few different things–and not always business-related. Sometimes, good old fashioned team building can work wonders for Sales and Marketing alignment. Conversations over a pint or two help teams get to know one another and build strong rapport.

How Marketers can offer their quality time

Make an effort to get together with the Sales department to spend time outside of the office.

How Sales can offer their quality time

Go out of your way to attend any events marketing plans for you, like new campaign launches or a friendly lunch! Show your support and that you care about the success of both teams. After all, you’re all working toward the same end goal. Don’t be afraid to reach out and invite someone on the marketing team for a coffee or sit down and eat lunch together. Those little things can also go a long way.

Love language #5: Be there for each other with tangible acts

Tangible acts mean offering real value to the opposite team to help each other meet their goals.

How Marketers can give tangible acts

You have a plethora of data at your fingertips. And, as they say, sharing is caring! Pass along valuable data that sales can use to better inform how they approach prospects.

Here at PathFactory, Marketing send sales what we call Fast Moving Buyer (FMB) alerts. The emails let sales know when someone is bingeing (aka spending a critical amount of time on at least 2 or more content assets). This way, Sales knows this person is genuinely interested to learn more. Also, knowing the topics they engage with, Sales can have more informed conversations on the solutions they’re interested in. This is especially valuable when it comes to chatting with cold leads.

How Sales can give tangible acts

Make sure you’re following up on those marketing-sourced leads! Regardless of whether the leads are great or garbage, provide Marketing with feedback. This way they can keep sending you more and more qualified leads (meaning, you’ll get hung up on less and less.) If you notice some assets are performing well versus others, let them know. This way they know what takes priority when it comes to optimizing and updating.

Remember, everyone speaks a different love language. And while one may resonate more than others, they are all essential. Speaking the 5 love languages fosters stronger teamwork between Sales and Marketing teams. And as we all know, building strong relationships is the key to cohesive teams that operate like a well-oiled machine. Now go forth and show some love! And I’ll see you back ‘in the chair’ next time for more Sales and Marketing Relationship Therapy.

Written By

Emily Mckeown

Emily is a Business Development Representative at PathFactory. A recent Queen's University Business School graduate, she brings prior marketing and customer support experience to the team. In her spare time, you can find her exploring new spots in Toronto and giving treats to all the office doggos!

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